Faith
by JMolover13
Summary: Set mainly in FTL: After seeing Regina and Emma, the stable girl, together, Cora takes matters into her own hands, modifies her daughter's memories, and kills their stable worker all the same. With a dying wish Emma is granted another chance at life, all she needs is faith. Prompt filled on Tumblr: prompt inside.


**Anonymous asked:**

Swan Queen: Regina's mom never approved of her daughter's relationship with Daniel, but it wasn't just because he was a stable boy. Daniel was actually a stable girl named Emma. Before Regina's mom was defeated, she cast a spell on her daughter that made her see Emma as Daniel so as to confuse and destroy her happiness even more. (Sorry if it's confusing. It makes sense in my head...)

Emma Swan was the biggest bargain Henry and Cora Mills had ever made. She worked her ass off for food and shelter. Henry knew that he would be sneaking good food for her instead of just remains like Cora had intended. Henry really was just an old softy.

Emma had been working for them for about a week when Regina first stepped foot into the stables. She was cleaning the stalls and heard the footfalls. She stood up and almost doubled over when she saw the youngest Mills' face for the first time. She had had yet to meet her because she was either sent off before Regina got to the stables or she was in the stables and only the stables as Regina was in the house either coming or going from banquets and parties Cora no doubt made her attend.

Emma's jaw dropped as Regina walked into the stables, she also happened to drop the pitchfork she was using on the hay. Regina looked up startled to see anyone inside. She smiled that sweet serene smile of hers as she walked over, "Hi. I'm Regina… you must be the new workman my parents hired." She couldn't stop the blush as the woman before her stared openly at her.

Emma finally gathered herself and shook her head. She grinned and Regina almost swooned, "I prefer work person." She smirked as she took the beautiful girl's hand, "I'm Emma."

"Regina." She gasped at herself, "I already said that…" She looked down, embarrassed then back up, "I was just going to go for a ride…" She gestured behind her to her favorite horse.

"Oh of course! Let me help you." Emma ran around gathering a saddle and reigns.

"Actually!.." Regina tried to stop her, "I prefer to ride without the saddle…"

"Right." Emma nodded then scurried as she put the saddle back and went back to the horse to put the reigns on his face. "Here you are." She walked out of the stall and gave the reigns to Regina.

"Thank you… Emma." She tasted the girl's name for the first time… she loved it.

Cora had seen the whole exchange. This would not do. Her daughter falling for not only a girl, but a simple little peasant girl. She didn't comment on anything right away. She watched the two interact for an entire two years. She saw them fall madly, passionately in love… this would not do at all.

It was when Regina snuck down to the stables one night to meet Emma and didn't return until the next morning that she knew she must interfere. _Love is weakness..._ And Cora would be damned if her daughter were to ever be weak.

The thing with this particular girl though, was how extraordinary she was… and how cheap. She had to keep her, but she had to keep her daughter from her as well. She marched into her daughter's room unannounced that afternoon that Regina walked in at that ungodsly hour, and found Regina leaning against half of the window sill and that Emma leaning against the other half giving her a rose. Regina was just moving in to kiss their worker girl's lips when Cora interrupted, "Well…" She startled the two love-dazed teenagers apart, "Isn't this a sight."

"Listen, Lady Mills, I swear to you nothing happened, but if you are going to punish someone it should be me." Emma immediately started in.

"That's enough." She threw her hand up causing the blonde peasant to fly through the air and cross a distance that no human could ever do, or should ever do unless they had a death wish.

Emma landed hard in a field, the air completely knocked out of her. When she came to she noticed that the house was the size of her pinky finger's nail. She didn't know what the woman was going to do, but she knew she had to get back there and save Regina.

"MOTHER!" Regina cried, "Why did you do that? She could be seriously hurt!" Regina tried to push passed her mother, but Cora grabbed her arm and threw her in a chair.

"Sit. Down." She said as she waved her hand and clasped it into a fist, "And stay there."

"Mother! You're hurting me!" Regina tried to move, but she was trapped. There was something around her throat, or it felt like there was, that was blocking her airway. She started seeing dots.

"Am I?" Cora asked. She took a step forward and raised her brow. Her daughter said nothing, but finally fell asleep.

Cora walked over to her and took her daughter's heart from her chest. She analyzed it and found that her daughter was truly in love. She rolled her eyes and shook her head before she shoved it back in and with both hands grabbed her hand in the meticulous way she needed to, to adjust her memory. She placed either thumb directly over Regina's eyebrows so that they were at the frontal lobe. She aligned her index and middle fingers over the parietal and temporal lobes. Her ring fingers went to the occipital lobe and her pinkies to the cerebellum. Cora's eyes rolled back as she searched through her daughter's brain for the new memories of their stable girl. She adjusted them until she saw fit. First, Regina would not be in love with a stable girl, but a stable boy, second, her daughter would not love at all.

Emma burst back through Regina's bedroom door, just as Cora was finishing everything. The blonde girl ripped her hand from Regina's head, "Don't you hurt her!" She yelled.

"My dear, my dear…" Cora lifted her other hand from her daughter's head after letting her fall gently on the bed, "I am her mother. I would never hurt her." She smirked.

"I get the feeling that you're lying Lady Mills…" Emma stared at her love, "And that feeling I have was a gift given to me by someone who watched over me when I was born… I'm never wrong." She said seriously.

"Well, what a gift you have… mine's a little more powerful." Cora's eyes narrowed before she reached into Emma's chest and pulled her heart out, "You defy me again, I will crush you to dust." Cora stared Emma down, "Oh… and by the way." She squeezed Emma's heart and Emma fell to her knees, "It's gonna be pure agony if you do." She knelt down in front of Emma, "You will not go near my daughter again. I've already adjusted her memories so that she thinks you a stable _boy_. It will never be the same when she starts calling you Daniel. I'm sure you'll try to take it as long as possible because you are a _ssssstubborn_ girl. But it will wear thin… and you will leave my daughter be. You understand me? She is bound for greatness. I will not let a simple being like you and 'true love' get in the way." With that she punched Emma's heart back into her chest, "Run along now. You have chores to do."

It was a full three months that Regina had been calling her Daniel before she saved the little princess on the horse. It only took that long for the evil mother of her beloved to find a king that would marry her daughter. Emma couldn't handle it. She felt like her world was tumbling down and there was nowhere to grab to hold steady, there was no ground to stand solidly on. The evening before Regina came running to her… to Daniel, to run away and get married that night, Cora made a visit.

"How is everything?" She asked wickedly.

"I'm living the best life anyone could want to live." Emma glared at her, "Watching after the woman I love… keeping a safe distance from her witch of a mother." She cocked her head to the older woman.

Cora simply laughed. With a sweep of the brunette's hand she found herself pinned against a pillar. Cora practically floated over to her. With a flick of her wrist a chalice appeared out of thin air, "Drink this." She said dryly as she shoved the beverage at Emma's mouth. Emma had no choice as the woman touched her throat and magically opened her gullet. "How hard was that?" She chuckled evilly before she walked away.

~0~0~0~0~0~

That night, as she tried to reason with Cora, and as the woman ripped her heart out, the only thing she wished for was another chance. The blue fairy heard her wish just in time. She hoped that she had granted it before it was too late… for everyone. She had to go back in time and not mess anything up, but adjust what Cora did to that drink to ensure that she had granted that wish almost a decade before.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Snow White didn't know why her daughter's name was Emma… all she knew was that it was going to be a girl first of all, and second that her name would be Emma… it was almost as if she had no choice.

~0~0~0~0~0~

When the blue fairy left Geppetto and Pinocchio alone to finish the enchanted tree, she had some unfinished business to attend to before she went into battle. She hoped to the gods that it would work.

~0~0~0~0~0~

As Emma was driving her Beetle and this kid that… apparently was hers back to him home, something in her gut told her that shit was about to blow out the water. As soon as she passed the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign, she was no longer a lost soul. She was no longer floating and dancing through life to get by.

Everything became clear as glass.

She was almost antsy as the boy got out of the car in a huff. But everything slowed as she got out of the car to walk with him… and everything seemed to freeze completely for a minute or two as she saw the love of her life run down the stairs… everything was frozen but her.

Emma grabbed her heart and fell to her knees.

"Emma!" Henry ran over to her.

Regina was hot on his heals as well. The last thing she needed was Henry's birthmother dying on her property. Emma was hunched over as she tried to slow the rapidity of her beating heart. "Are you alright?" Regina asked as she got Graham to hold her son back so she could check on the woman. She didn't know or understand why, but aside from how things would look if this person were to keel over and die, something was drawing her near this person.

Emma looked up, showing her face to the brunette finally, "I'm fine." She answered a little out of breath.

"Well… please come in until I believe you to be 'fine.'" Regina stood and helped the blonde up. There was something so, so, so familiar about her. She searched her mind, but the only thing that came up was Daniel for some unknown reason… and she did her damndest to shake thought off.

Emma was happy that Regina wasn't the evil queen she knew she had turned into. She had been nothing but cordial and polite while dealing with Henry… of course she was also a protective-hard-ass-momma-bear, and a straight up bitch every so often about things that did not concern Henry… but she was everything Emma remembered too… And, after she took the deputy position, she almost seemed relieved that she was staying.

The deputy walked into the Mayor's office unannounced and without a knock. She had only been asked to come over about five minutes before to talk about Henry, but she had been in the neighborhood so to speak. Regina was at her desk looking at something that she quickly shoved aside.

Emma stared suspiciously at her, "Madam Mayor?"

"Deputy Swan… You need to learn basic manners… like knocking." She said sarcastically. Emma ignored her and walked around to the desk without being invited to invade her personal space. She opened the center drawer, or tried to, but Regina's hand stopped her, "And like not invading personal space, or going through private property!" She glared at the blonde that had captured her so. She made her think more and more of Daniel, which was ridiculous because the only thing that was the same between Daniel and Emma was their skin tone.

Emma ignored her and yanked the drawer open. She saw the box and grabbed it as the drawer was stuck, as Regina was still trying to shut it. She opened it up and saw the ring she had given her… that Daniel had given her she supposed, but it was from her nevertheless. She bit her bottom lip before she took the ring out and put it on Regina's left finger. Regina seemed so shocked and scared. She couldn't move at all. Emma just took a deep breath and with everything she sad she kissed the woman sitting before her. Regina immediately knew those lips, and all those adjusted memories seemed to readjust themselves back to how they originally were. She pulled Emma in tighter.

A huge force of energy wrapped them up and pulled them… to where? Neither had any idea. They held their kiss, putting every bit of love either had in it until they had no breath left to spare. When they pulled apart they were teens again. Regina was in her room and Emma was leaning in the window stealing kisses like they used to. Regina had the rose in her hand that Emma had given her.

Both of them stared at the door.

They waited for her.

Nothing.

"She won't be coming." A small voice said behind them. They both turned to find the blue fairy herself, "I heard your wish all those years ago… I'm sorry it took so long to grant." She gave a hopeful smile to the blonde before she turned to Regina, "Your parents are out of town this time around. I suggest you get out of here while you still can. Your mother is the same person she was before, but I have ensure that she won't come looking for you if you two run now."

Emma looked to Regina and they kissed once more before looking back to the blue fairy, "Where would we go?"

The blue fairy smiled, "Try the palace you once took over with evil. The king has a soft spot for young love, and Snow White will adore both of you." She said it in a way that told them that was where they were supposed to go, that there was nowhere else for them. Regina stood and grabbed the few things Emma had scraped together to give her as presents and put them in a small bag before she climbed out of the window. They began walking to the stables, but the blue fairy waved her wand and had Regina's favorite horse dressed and ready for travel.

"How will we know we'll always be safe?" Emma asked as she helped Regina atop the horse's back before getting on behind her.

"Faith, Emma. You must have faith for a happily ever after to work." The blue fairy said.

Emma knew she wasn't lying… so… She just had to find some faith. She kicked the horse into gear so she and Regina could be together for the rest of their lives, "Faith…" She murmured into Regina's neck.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Everything that the blue fairy told them would happen happened. They walked right up to the palace gaits and asked for a word with His Majesty the King. The king and the eleven-year-old princess happened to be walking through the echoing foyer and overheard the two women's pleas.

"Poppa?" Snow tugged on his sleeve more concerned than her father would be.

"Yes princess?" He knelt down before his daughter.

"Please help them Poppa." She asked him with wide, sad eyes. She heard the distress in their voices.

"Alright my darling, girl." He could never say 'no' to his daughter especially when she asked him to do something selfless like help people they didn't know. He stood straight, "Guards!" He clapped his hands twice, "Let them come." He said as he turned to sit upon his throne.

Emma and Regina walked in hands clasped, fingers woven, knuckles tight. Emma whispered calming words to Regina who felt like her mother was following them already. "Faith, my love… you heard the blue fairy. And I will always come back to you. Have I not proven that?" Emma took Regina's cheek with her free hand and stroked her cheek with her thumb.

Before Regina could respond in something besides a nod, Snow spoke out, "Oh Poppa, the love each other!" She clasped her hands together, "We must help them! We must!" She jumped in her place beside her father at his throne.

"Yes, my dear. We're going to." He calmed his daughter, "That is… if you tell me how we can help you young ladies?"

Emma gestured for Regina—the more eloquent of the two to talk, but she couldn't, so Emma took a step forward, "My love's mother is evil… She's rotten to the core." The blonde started, she was startled by Snow's gasp, but continued anyways, "I could tell you of a life that we've already lived separately because of her, but I'd rather you not listen to us for longer than needed. The blue fairy brought us back to this time and she told us that you would help us out if we asked. All we ask is to be protected from her." Emma took a cautious step forward, "I don't even ask my protection, only my love's." She bit her lip for a moment, "I am a handy worker. I can do just about anything. I've broken horses, built houses, cooked, cleaned, trained for battle… I'll do anything you ask so long that she's protected and I can be with her…"

Snow was leaning against her father, hugging him tight. She lifted her head as Emma trailed off, "Poppa, we can give them our stable boy's cottage. They can live there and I can get my pony!"

The King laughed heartily, "Pardon the Princess." He said, knowing they both heard her, "She's got her mother's heart and her father's greediness." He explained, "But she presents the perfect solution. We shall have you live there, and break in horses. The stables have been empty since the Queen…" He looked off to the side, "Well, we need to fill them again." He finished, "I'll have your cupboards stalked immediately." He looked off to the side to see one of his many servants, who had been listening to the entire plea, go off and get it ready, "Did you come with anything?"

"Only the clothes on out backs and my prized stead…" Regina finally spoke.

"And where did this prized stead come from?" He asked.

"The miller's lands, My King." Regina offered.

He hmphed, "Yes, well. We'll be sure to keep him out of sight if anyone comes calling from those lands… just in case."

Regina couldn't help herself, "Thank you, King!" She wrapped her arms around him.

He laughed like he would at his own daughter, "Of course milady." He pulled them both along, "Let's go see the dresser to get you more clothes and then see your cottage, shall we?" He asked as he looked around for Snow who was trailing behind Regina and the king holding onto Emma's arm.

The King and Snow White turned out to give everything the blue fairy told them they would. King Leopold looked at Regina and Emma as if they were his own daughters as well. He would have had a daughter about their age as well, but her life was short. He only got to spend a day with her. He saw Emma and Regina and he saw a second chance for many things. They were young enough to be second and third daughters, but old enough to show Snow the motherly influence she needed. And he made sure to thank them for that.

Emma and Regina learned to have faith quite quickly for a lifetime of pain and heartache. They fell into life on the castle grounds quickly and the blue fairy made occasional visits to check in. During one of these visits she heard Emma's request once more. She had to giggle at the way the woman wished it, but she buzzed over the blonde as she was cleaning the stables.

"I hear your wish." She said.

Emma turned around quickly to see the blue fairy. She smiled at her, "I know you probably can't grant it, right? I mean… you've already given us so much this time around… It's too much isn't it?"

"No, not at all." She said with a chipper-ness that only the blue fairy could use, "What would you say if I told you it was Regina's wish as well?"

"I would ask you to grant it right away for Regina… not for me… Because she deserves it more than anyone… and it's something I can't provide her." Emma's eyes filled with tears, "And I have to live with that, but Regina shouldn't have to live without a child."

The blue fairy smiled at the savior from a different world, "I've already granted it, Emma… She's further along than she thinks… tell her she has three months left before Henry joins you in this world."

"Thank you!" Emma cried, "I would hug you if you weren't so small." She stated before she ran from the barn to find her beloved.

She found Regina sitting with Snow, helping her with her studies, "Regina!" She yelled at her from the field.

"Emma is happy." Snow said with a smirk as she saw the big smile from their spot on the porch.

Regina smiled, "She definitely seems that way. Excuse me Snow, dear, won't you?"

"Of course!" Snow practically pushed her away to join her love.

"What is it?" Regina asked.

Emma's grin widened as Regina walked down, unconsciously holding her stomach, "The blue fairy came to see me again. She told me that she granted my wish already because it was yours too… and she said that she granted it six months ago…" Emma knelt down, "Regina, Henry is coming back to us." She smiled as she stood back up and kissed her love.

Snow, who had been eavesdropping even though she knew she shouldn't, asked, "Who is Henry?"

Emma pulled from Regina, "You remember that other life we've mentioned before… the horrible one without happy endings?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Snow's eyes visibly saddened.

"Well, Henry was our son in that life… He was the only good thing that life offered us." Regina finished.

"He's the only thing that was missing in this life… the one where we get a happy ending." Emma said.

"The life that we have love." Regina pushed into her love.

Emma nuzzled Regina's nose, "And faith."


End file.
